Foot orthosis with detachable skid sole plate

ABSTRACT

A foot orthosis includes a generally “L”-shaped splint having a generally upright leg-engaging section and a forwardly-extending foot support section with at least a portion of the splint being substantially transparent. A generally flexible foot receiving and retaining boot is removably mounted on the splint for releasably securing a foot on the splint, and a tongue-receiving pocket is mounted on one of the splint and the boot, the tongue-receiving pocket having at least one opening and a tongue retaining section therein. A generally planar skid pad includes an attached tongue section projecting from the skid pad, and the tongue section of the skid pad is insertable into the tongue-receiving pocket such that the tongue is releasably secured in the tongue-receiving pocket and the skid pad is thus releasably secured on one of the splint and the boot.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This continuation-in-part application claims priority to thefiling date of related utility patent application Ser. No. 10/278,550filed Oct. 23, 2002 which in turn claims priority to the filing date ofrelated utility patent application Ser. No. 09/941,466 filed Aug. 29,2001 which in turn claims priority to a related provisional applicationserial No. 60/229,171 filed Aug. 30, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to orthotic devices for feet and,more particularly, to a foot orthosis having a generally L-shaped lowerleg and foot support splint having a transparent heel section permittingviewing of the heel and a skid pad having a tongue for insertion into atongue-receiving pocket on the underside of the boot for releasablysecuring the skid pad on the boot.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] Numerous types of devices intended to immobilize the lower legand foot of a human patient are available. Examples of simple devicessuch as casts or splints are well known in the art. Other more recentdevices provide certain limited immobilization and protection benefitsbut, because of their design, do not provide protection againstimmobilization problems such as decubitus ulcers (pressure sores).

[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a multi-function orthosis forthe foot, heel, ankle and lower leg which provides three-dimensionalimmobilization and protection benefits, minimizes the risk of pressuresores on the heel and posterior portion of the lower leg, provides arange of therapeutic pressures and positions for the foot, yet stillallows ambulation of the patient without removal of the device. Animportant feature of such devices found in the prior art is theinclusion of a frictional skid pad or sole plate which is attached tothe underside of the orthotic device and helps to prevent slipping. Eachof the devices in the prior art that include such a skid pad attachesthe skid pad to the orthotic device by hardware such as a bolt and nutarrangement or the like which extends from the orthotic device for theskid pad to be mounted thereto. A major disadvantage of this design,however, is that the hardware is directly underneath the patient's footand this often impedes walking on the injured extremity, which canjeopardize the rehabilitation of the injury. Furthermore, the risk ofwalking is increased by many of the devices of the prior art due to theinvasive hardware on the underside of the devices, which increases thechance for injury and thus increases the potential liability of the caregiver, which unfortunately has become a prime consideration in theoperation of such facilities. There is therefore a need for a foot andankle orthotic device which substantially eliminates the underfoothardware of the prior art.

[0007] Another problem encountered in the prior art is that when theorthotic devices include a toe plate, which is a support plate mountedforwardly on the orthotic device beneath the toes, the adjustmentmechanism for the toe plate is often the same type of invasive hardwareas that found in connection with the skid pad mounting hardware. Whenthe toe plate is connected by a nut and bolt arrangement as is found onthe vast majority of prior art devices, the nurse or care provider mustunscrew the nut to adjust the toe plate, which can cause furtheraggravation to the injured extremity, particularly if the nut has beentightened previously and tools are needed to perform the adjustment.There is therefore a need for a toe plate mounting and adjustmentarrangement which will substantially eliminate the underfoot hardware ofthe prior art.

[0008] Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide animproved foot orthosis.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedfoot orthosis which substantially eliminates the dangers inherent in theprior art caused by the nut and bolt combination used for securement ofthe skid pad to the orthotic device.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedfoot orthosis which substantially eliminates the dangers inherent in theprior art caused by the hardware mounting of the toe plate on theorthotic device.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedfoot orthosis which includes a skid pad having a projecting tonguesection which fits within and is releasably secured by atongue-receiving pocket mounted on the underside of the foot orthosis.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedfoot orthosis which includes a toe plate having a tongue portion whichis inserted into and releasably secured within the pocket therebyeliminating the invasive hardware of the prior art.

[0013] Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide animproved foot orthosis which is relatively simple and durable inconstruction and is safe and effective in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention provides a foot orthosis which includes agenerally “L”-shaped splint having a generally upright leg-engagingsection and a forwardly-extending foot support section with at least aportion of the splint being substantially transparent. A flexible footreceiving and retaining boot is removably mounted on the splint forreleasably securing a foot on the splint, and a tongue-receiving pocketis mounted on one of the splint and the boot, the tongue-receivingpocket having at least one opening and a tongue retaining sectiontherein. A generally planar skid pad includes an attached tongue sectionprojecting from the skid pad, and the tongue section of the skid pad isinsertable into the tongue-receiving pocket such that the tongue isreleasably secured in the tongue-receiving pocket and the skid pad isreleasably secured on one of the splint and the boot.

[0015] The combination of the tongue and pocket substantially eliminatesthe need for invasive or potentially injurious hardware to be mounted onthe underside of the foot orthosis of the present invention.Furthermore, as the skid pad can be removed or replaced by merelysliding the tongue out of and into the pocket, movement of the footorthosis and hence the injured extremity is greatly reduced, thuspreventing further injury to the extremity. Finally, the pocket and/ortongue may be modified to include a fastening material such as hook andloop fasteners or the like to ensure that the skid pad remains in placeon the foot orthosis while not adding potentially damaging hardware tothe device. It is thus seen that the present invention provides asubstantial improvement over those devices found in the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the foot orthosis of thepresent invention;

[0018]FIG. 3 is a detailed exploded perspective view showing theattachment of the skid pad and toe plate to the boot; and

[0019]FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view showing the pocket.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] The foot orthosis 10 of the present invention includes anL-shaped semi-flexible splint 12 having an extended leg-engaging section14, a relatively wide heel portion 16, a forwardly extending footsupport section 18 and an anti-rotation bar 19 to prevent lowerextremity rotation, as shown best in FIGS. 1-3. Preferably, the L-shapedsplint 12 would be constructed of a transparent PVC plastic such asCleardex™ or KYDEX™ having a small degree of flexibility to permit minormotion of the leg and foot. It has been found that the plastic thicknessshould be between ⅛″ and ½″, although the thickness is not critical tothe present invention. The benefits of the transparent material beingused will be detailed later in this disclosure.

[0021] A fabric boot 20 is fitted on and removably mounted to theL-shaped splint 12 and would preferably include leg and foot accessflaps 22 and 24 to permit the foot orthosis 10 to be fitted onto the legand foot of the wearer of the foot orthosis 10, as shown in FIG. 2. Inthe preferred embodiment, the boot 20 would be constructed of a washablepolyester tricot fabric or the like, although the exact material used isnot critical so long as the securement characteristics of the boot 20are maintained. It is further preferred that the leg access flap 22 andthe foot access flap 24 be releasably securable by hook and loopsecurement devices or the like to receive and comfortably retain the legand foot of the wearer there within, and further that the unit includepadding to protect sensitive injured parts of the patient from furtherdamage.

[0022] As shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heel portion of fabric boot20 is open to permit viewing of the heel within the foot orthosis 10 andthereby facilitate diagnosis of the foot condition of the patient. Thetransparent nature of the L-shaped splint 12 further facilitates theviewing of the heel of the patient through the foot orthosis 10 withoutmandating removal of the foot orthosis 10 to conduct such inspection. Itthus becomes far easier for doctors, nurses and other staff to inspectthe heel of the patient wearing the foot orthosis 10 and thus confirmthat degradation of the heel is not taking place due to extended periodsof bed rest or the like. The design of the L-shaped splint 12 is suchthat the patient's heel is “floated” to virtually eliminate heel contactwith a resting surface, which is a common cause of bed sores for bedridden patients.

[0023] Additional features found in the present invention would includean Achilles support pad 26 mounted on the boot 20 adjacent the legsupport portion 14 of the L-shaped splint 12 which provides additionalpadding for the Achilles tendon of the patient, which is particularlyimportant when the patient is recumbent for extended periods of time.Additionally, a foot pad 28 is provided on the fabric boot 20 adjacentfoot support section 18 to permit the heel of the patient to “float”during walking, which is particularly important for those patients withdecubitus or other such bone and tendon degradation maladies caused bylong periods of bed rest.

[0024] It is to be understood that many of the above described elementsof the present invention are generally found in the prior art, aregenerally conventional and do not in and of themselves comprise theinventive elements of the present invention. However, one of theproblems found in foot orthotic devices of the prior art which is notaddressed is that to attach or remove elements to the foot section 18 ofthe L-shaped splint 12 requires the use of a nut and bolt arrangement,such as that shown in Varn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,173. This means that themajority of prior art devices include a screw mounted on the undersideof the foot section of the splint, which is generally regarded asinvasive hardware and can potentially result in injury to the patientdue to the location of the screw on the orthotic device. Furthermore, asthe toe plate 30 is commonly secured to the L-shaped splint 12 by thesame nut and bolt combination, removal of and adjustment of the toeplate 30 mandates adjustment of the nut and bolt combination, furtherrisking injury to the patient wearing the orthotic device due to thetwisting and turning of the nut and bolt.

[0025] The present invention substantially eliminates the dangersinherent in the prior art caused by the nut and bolt combination byinventing and including the following functional features. The skid pad40 is preferably a rounded generally rectangular pad of closed cellexpanded vinyl, the skid pad 40 including a tongue portion 42 mounted onthe upper surface 44 of the skid pad 40, as shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3.It is preferred that the construction material used in connection withthe skid pad 40 be extremely durable such that the skid pad 40 andtongue 42 have an extended usable lifespan, which is superior to thosedevices found in the prior art. The skid pad 40 may also include a layerof textured rubber to keep the skid from slipping, although it may be ofany type of appropriate non-skid material. Preferably, the tongue 42consists of a cut out section of skid pad 40 which is separated fromskid pad 40 along the longitudinal length thereof and remains attachedat the forward end thereof to permit the tongue 42 to be pivoted upwardsfrom the skid pad 40. Mounted on the underside of fabric boot 20 is atongue-receiving pocket 32, which is generally rectangular in shape andextends longitudinally along the underside of fabric boot 20 andincludes a forward opening 34. The pocket 32 includes an outer wall 35which is generally semi-cylindrical in shape and has left and rightlongitudinal edges 37 a and 37 b which are each connected to theunderside of the fabric boot 20 thus leaving a tongue-receiving cavityhaving a forward opening 34 for receiving the tongue 42 therein. Therear edge 39 of the outer wall 35 is likewise connected to the undersideof fabric boot 20 thus creating the tongue-receiving pocket 32 as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4. In the preferred embodiment, tongue 42 of skid pad 40would be slid into forward opening 34 of tongue-receiving pocket 32until tongue 42 is securely seated within the tongue-retaining sectionof tongue-receiving pocket 32, as shown best in FIG. 2. Because pocket32 is only slightly larger than tongue 42, there is substantialfrictional contact between tongue 42 and the interior of thetongue-receiving pocket 32 which prevents the tongue 42 from sliding outof tongue-receiving pocket 32 absent intentional force being applied toremove tongue 42 from tongue-receiving pocket 32. No otherbottom-mounted securement means is necessary to secure tongue 42 withintongue-receiving pocket 32 and thus it is seen that the intrusivehardware found in the prior art is eliminated by the present invention.However, to insure that the skid pad 40 stays on the foot orthosis 10, astrap 46 is connected to the skid pad 40 and extends rearwardlytherefrom for connection to the boot 20 at a position behind and abovethe skid pad 40. The strap 46 would preferably include a section of hookand loop securement fabric mounted on the rearward end thereof forattachment to the boot 20, the attachment shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0026] Although it is preferred that the tongue 42 and tongue-receivingpocket 32 utilize only frictional securement to secure the tonguetherein, it has been found that for those patients that are moreambulatory than average, it is sometimes desirable to enhance thefrictional securement of the tongue 42 within the tongue-receivingpocket 32 by including a supplemental fastening device such as afabric-type fastening device mounted on the underside of the fabric boot20 immediately rearward of the tongue-receiving pocket 32, as shown bestin FIGS. 3 and 4. This fastening device would consist of two separatablemating sections, one section 52 a mounted on the fabric boot 20 and theother section 52 b mounted on the upper surface of the skid pad 40.While various types of fastening devices may be used with the presentinvention, such as hook and loop fasteners and the like, in thepreferred embodiment, a fastener manufactured by 3M of Minnesota hasbeen found to provide excellent securement while being generallynon-invasive. The fastener is marketed under the name “3M Dual LockReclosable Fastener” and consists of hundreds of mushroom-shaped stemswhich interlock with one another, producing an audible “snap” whichannounces that the fastener is locked. Of course, various other types offasteners can be used with the present invention, although it has beenfound that this type of fastening device provides secure and safefastening of the skid pad 40 to the fabric boot 20.

[0027] Additionally, the toe plate 30 is secured on the L-shaped splint12 by a rearward extending tongue portion 31 which fits within and isreleasably secured in tongue-receiving pocket 32 by a small strip ofhook and loop fastening fabric or the like which may be mounted on thetongue portion 31 or in the pocket 32. In this manner, the toe plate 30may be positioned forwards or rearwards relative to the foot supportsection 18 of L-shaped splint 12 by merely sliding the toe plate in andout of the tongue-receiving pocket 32. When the toe plate 30 is in itsdesired position, the small strip of hook and loop fastener will besecured to the interior wall of tongue-receiving pocket 32 and the toeplate 30 would thus be releasably secured in the desired position.

[0028] It is thus seen that the skid pad 40 and toe plate 30 may bequickly and easily removed from the foot orthosis 10 of the presentinvention without requiring the patient to lift or move his or her footor requiring the staff person to unscrew a nut to access the skid pad 40or toe plate 30. Many of the potential problems involved instaff-patient contact are thus eliminated, rendering the presentinvention far superior to those devices found in the prior art. The easeof removal and attachment of the skid pad 40 and toe plate 30 areespecially important with patients who are ambulatory and thus requirethe addition or removal of those elements several times during the day.

[0029] One modification that should be noted is that it may bebeneficial to include more than one tongue-receiving pocket which willinteract with multiple skid pad tongues 43 a and 43 b, as shown in FIG.3, in order to provide additional frictional securement for the skid pad40 on the boot 20. To that end, it should be noted that the precisenumber, size and shape of the pockets is not critical to the inventionso long as the functional characteristics of the invention aremaintained, specifically that the pocket receive and releasably retainthe tongue.

[0030] It is to be understood that numerous modifications, additions andsubstitutions may be made to the foot orthosis of the present inventionwhich fall within the intended broad disclosure. For example, theconstruction materials used in the present invention may be modified andor changed so long as the functional characteristics of the presentinvention are maintained. Also, the precise size, shape and nature ofthe tongue 42 and tongue-receiving pocket 32 may be modified so long asthe functional characteristics of the pocket are maintained,specifically the ease of removability and retention of skid pad 40.Finally, the size and shape of the invention may be modified so long asthe functional characteristics are not destroyed or greatly modified.

[0031] There has thus been shown and described a foot orthotic devicewhich accomplishes at least all of the intended objectives.

We claim:
 1. A foot orthosis comprising; a generally “L”-shaped splinthaving a generally upright leg-engaging section and aforwardly-extending foot support section; a generally flexible footreceiving and retaining boot mounted on said splint for releasablysecuring a foot on said splint; a tongue-receiving pocket mounted on oneof said splint and said boot, said tongue-receiving pocket having atleast one opening and a tongue retaining section; a generally planarskid pad including an attached tongue section projecting from said skidpad; and said tongue section of said skid pad being insertable into saidtongue-receiving pocket such that said tongue is releasably secured insaid tongue-receiving pocket and said skid pad is releasably secured onone of said splint and said boot.
 2. The foot orthosis of claim 1further comprising a forwardly extending toe plate which includes aforward toe support plate and a rearwardly extending tongue portionwhich fits within and is releasably secured in said tongue-receivingpocket such that said toe plate may be positioned forwards or rearwardsrelative to said foot support section of said L-shaped splint by slidingsaid tongue portion of said toe plate into and out of saidtongue-receiving pocket.
 3. The foot orthosis of claim 1 wherein saidgenerally “L”-shaped splint is constructed of a semi-flexible, generallytransparent PVC plastic such that the healing status of the foot isviewable without requiring removal of said splint.
 4. The foot orthosisof claim 1 wherein said boot further comprises a leg access flap and afoot access flap each operative to allow a respective leg and foot to beinserted into said boot, said boot being constructed of a fabricmaterial and said leg access flap and said foot access flap each furthercomprising securement means for releasably securing a leg and footwithin said boot by at least one hook and loop securement device.
 5. Thefoot orthosis of claim 1 wherein said tongue-receiving pocket comprisesa longitudinally extended generally semi-cylindrical curved outer wallhaving left and right longitudinal edges and a rear edge, said outerwall mounted on the underside of said boot with said left and rightlongitudinal edges and said rear edge connected to said boot, saidcurved outer wall and said boot thereby forming said tongue-receivingpocket having one opening for receiving and releasably retaining saidtongue therein.
 6. The foot orthosis of claim 1 wherein said tongue ofsaid skid pad comprises a cut out section of said skid pad which isseparated from said skid pad along the longitudinal length thereof andremains attached at the forward end thereof thereby permitting saidtongue to be pivoted upwards from said skid pad for insertion into saidtongue-receiving pocket.
 7. The foot orthosis of claim 1 furthercomprising at least two tongue-receiving pockets.
 8. A foot orthosiscomprising; a generally “L”-shaped splint having a generally uprightleg-engaging section and a forwardly-extending foot support section; agenerally flexible foot receiving and retaining boot mounted on saidsplint for releasably securing a foot on said splint; a tongue-receivingpocket mounted on one of said splint and said boot, saidtongue-receiving pocket having at least one opening and a tongueretaining section; a generally planar skid pad including an attachedtongue section projecting from said skid pad; a forwardly extending toeplate which includes a forward toe support plate and a rearwardlyextending tongue portion; and said tongue section of said skid pad andsaid tongue portion of said toe plate each being insertable into saidtongue-receiving pocket such that said tongue section of said skid padand said tongue portion of said toe plate are each releasably secured insaid tongue-receiving pocket and said skid pad and said toe plate arereleasably secured on one of said splint and said boot.
 9. The footorthosis of claim 8 wherein said generally “L”-shaped splint isconstructed of a semi-flexible, generally transparent PVC plastic suchthat the healing status of the foot is viewable without requiringremoval of said splint.
 10. The foot orthosis of claim 8 wherein saidboot further comprises a leg access flap and a foot access flap eachoperative to allow a respective leg and foot to be inserted into saidboot, said boot being constructed of a fabric material and said legaccess flap and said foot access flap each further comprising securementmeans for releasably securing a leg and foot within said boot by atleast one hook and loop securement device.
 11. The foot orthosis ofclaim 8 wherein said tongue-receiving pocket comprises a longitudinallyextended generally semi-cylindrical curved outer wall having left andright longitudinal edges and a rear edge, said outer wall mounted on theunderside of said boot with said left and right longitudinal edges andsaid rear edge connected to said boot, said curved outer wall and saidboot thereby forming said tongue-receiving pocket having one opening forreceiving and releasably retaining said tongue therein.
 12. The footorthosis of claim 8 wherein said tongue of said skid pad comprises a cutout section of said skid pad which is separated from said skid pad alongthe longitudinal length thereof and remains attached at the forward endthereof thereby permitting said tongue to be pivoted upwards from saidskid pad for insertion into said tongue-receiving pocket.
 13. The footorthosis of claim 8 further comprising at least two tongue-receivingpockets.
 14. A foot orthosis comprising; a splint for supporting a humanfoot; a foot receiving and retaining boot mounted on said splint forreleasably securing a foot on said splint; a tongue-receiving pocketmounted on one of said splint and said boot, said tongue-receivingpocket having at least one opening and a tongue retaining section; askid pad including a projecting tongue section; and said tongue sectionof said skid pad being insertable into said tongue-receiving pocket suchthat said tongue is releasably secured in said tongue-receiving pocketand said skid pad is releasably secured on one of said splint and saidboot.
 15. The foot orthosis of claim 14 wherein said tongue section ofsaid skid pad is frictionally secured within said tongue-receivingpocket.
 16. The foot orthosis of claim 15 wherein said tongue section ofsaid skid pad is additionally releasably secured within saidtongue-receiving pocket by a supplemental fastening means.